Meter.



J. D. WALSH. METER.

IPLIGATION -FILED MAY l5, 1906. Patented Dec l 1HE Namus FErERs cu.,v/AsHlNcmN; D, c,

J. D.' WALSH.

Patented nec. 1, 1908.

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2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED stri/iras,

JOHhv DANIEL WALSH, OF LOOKIORT, NEW YORK, SSIGN Oli TO AMERICANDISTRICT .STEAM PATENT onnicn.

COMPANY, Ol LOCKPORT, NEW YORK, A. CORPORATION OI' NEW YORK.

Application filed May l5,

To all whom Lt may concern:

Be it known that I, ,Ici-1N DANinL lVALsi-i, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Lockport, in the county of Niagara and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Meters; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the saine.

The broad and'general object of my invention is to provide an efficient,accurate, and wear-resisting device for measuring and metering liquids,which shall be iioiseless in operation, simple in construction, and freefrom jar in use, and which may be readily adjusted to meter the same andvarying quantities of liquid matter at the same time,

and varying quantities atdifferent times.

More specifically, the object of my invention is to improve thestructure forming the subject-matter of my Patent No. 706,883, andparticularly to simplify the internal arrangement and construction ofthe patented structure, in the following particulars, among others:

l. Instead of making the dash-pots part of the casting holding thebucket, as in the device of my patent, I now preferably arrange thedash-pots independently of the casting, and removably secure them to thefloor of the easing of the meter in any snitable manner; all forpurposes presently appearing.

In the device of my present application, the shaft or rocker-arm onwhich the tilting bucket is mounted passes through the front. and rearsides of t-lie casing, the ends being supported by and working onball-bearings disposed on the outside of the meter-casing. thuseondncing to free, noiseless, and perfect operation or movement of thebucket, in use. The feature of having the ball-bearings disposed on theoutside of the metereasing is important, as in this position ordisposition water cannot possibly get to them.

In the use of my patented structure, some ditliculty was experienced,owing to the peculiar and particular arrangement thereon of theregistering mechanism` in water getting into such registering mechanismand injuring the same. It is, therefore, an important object of mypresent invention so to Specification of Letters Patent.

1906. Serial No. 317,030.

Patented Dec. l, 1908.

arrange the registering` mechanism with relation to the other parts ofmy device that this difiiculty will be entirely obviated, and

anism outside of and near the top of the casing, and actuated byinterposed mechanism in engagement with means desirably secured to orcarried by the top part of the bucket.

et. I improve upon the inlet-nozzle or funnel of my patented structure,by reducing the size of the exit end thereof, and this, taken inconnection with a reduced-size inletopening to the casing and anenlarged outlet-opening or openings, prevents flooding or undue bankingup of the water in the casing, which occurred with the device of mypatent. AInd, as a matter of still further and specific improvement,relative to the inlet-nozzle, I provide the same with a peculiararrangement of cleaning device, operated from the outside of the casing,and very eliicacious for the purpose designed.

In the device of my present application, I provide a hood ordeflector-deviet` disposed above the inlet-nozzle, to prevent flow ofwater directly into the nozzle, thus tending to prolong the life of thelatter.

IVith these objects in view, and others appearing as the specificationproceeds, my inconibination, and arrangement of parts of a devicecharacterized by my invention, as will be hereinafter fully described inthe specification, summed up in the claims, and illustrated in thedrawings, in which latter:

Figure l is a central, vertical, longitudinal section through the casingof my meter, showing' in elevation the interior parts of the device;Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the casing of the meter; Fig. 3 is avertical transverse section taken centrally through F ig. l. Fig. 4 is aside elevation of the casing of the meter, Fig. is an enlarged detailview of certain parts of the device. Fig. G is a detailed view showingthe two-armed yoke.

Referring to the drawings, it indicates the casing of the meter,desirably constructed in two sections, a body portion proper, a., and aremovable top section or cover portion ai; the former being providedwith dischargeopenings a3, preferably threaded for connection withpiping (not shown), and the latter i being provided with a hollow top orupwardg extending nose or chimney at, open at its I do this by mountingthe registering mechvention eomprehends the novel construction,4

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upper end, and with an internal flange a5, constituting the bottom ofthe nose at, and having a central opening a therethrough. Removablysecured, as by screws al, to the flange fr", around the central openingthereof, is an inlet-nozzle or funnel as constructed desirably taperingfrom the top to the bottom thereof, or wedge-shaped in cross section.Extending through the two end sides a9 of the funnel, and also throughone side of the top section a2 of the meter-casing, is a rod alo,adapted for reciprocatory movement, and provided, preferably, at itsouter end with a handle or knob an. Carried by the rod, and disposedwithin the funnel as, is a depending scraper cl2, desirably shaped, infront elevation, in conformity to the conformation of the funnel as incross section, that is, wedge or spear shaped, as clearly shown in Fig.l. Reciprocation of the rod am will cause the scraper as to move backand forth the length of the funnel, removing any accumulation or depositof sediment, dirt, mud, and the like, and keeping the exit end of thefunnel free for passage of water therethrough. This scraper-device isadvantageous, as the exit end of the funnel is quite small and, with theuse of muddy water, silt and sediment soon collects and clogs the saidexit-end; necessitating, in a short time, removal of the funnel forcleansing, if no scraper were provided.

On top of the upper, open end of the nose or chimney at is arranged aremovable coverplate als, carrying on its under surface a depending hoodor deflector alf, having open sides, and a bowed or curved bottom L15 toshed the water quickly; the function of this hood being to break, check,or retard the direct impact of water to, on, and through the funnel as,causing the water first to fall on the flange a5 which thus receives thedirect shock or impact of the water, the water thence running into andthrough the funnel as. Strain, jar, and shock are thus materially takenaway from the funnel, prolonging its life. The cover-plate @13 isprovided with an opening al in line with and emptying into the hood L14and being of considerably smaller size than the outlet-openings a3, andalso preferably threaded for engagement with piping, or the like (notshown).

Secured to the outside of the meter-casing, andl preferably to the topsection a2 thereof, so as to be high above the water-level of the liquidwithin the meter-casing, and thus prevent water getting into it, is abox or housing a containing any well-known or desired form ofregistering mechanism. Extending through the said top section u2 is apin als, which directly actuates the registering mechanism, as usual,and fast on the inner end of this pin is a depending two-armed yoke als,rocked or operated in the manner presently appearing.

Extending through the two end walls am, and considerably above thebottom, of the casing a, is a shaft @21, the ends thereof beingthreaded, as shown at m22. The end walls @20 are provided with openingsam, which are threaded, as shown at Q23. Engaging these threads areshaft-supporting bushings cgt, through which the shaft am projects,being loosely journaled therein. The bushings are formed cup-shaped attheir outer ends, as shown at at, forming a raceway for anti-frictionballs or rollers ft2 disposed therein. Secured on each threaded end ofthe shaft a is a ball-retaining cap a, provided with a beveled innersurface @2S bearing against, and forming the other side of the racewayfor, the balls 0.20. T he outer surface of the cup-shaped portion c25 isthreaded and secured on these threads is a hollow cap a2, preventingdust and dirt getting into the parts of the device inclosed by the cap.lt will be seen, therefore, that the shaft (L21, on which is mounted therocking or tilting bucket (as presently described) runs or works onball-bearings, thus insuring the maximum of ease of operation and aminimum of friction.

Disposed within the casing and removably secured, in any suitablemanner, to the bottom thereof is a casting B, desirably formed integralwith dash-pot chambers b, Z), which are vpreferably of the contourshown, that is, with flaring sides 722, for a purpose presentlyappearing. Preferably formed integral with the top of the casting B areupward-extending bumpers b3, for a purpose presently appearing.

A tilting bucket C, divided into compartments by a partition c, may besecured to a saddle-bracket (f3 having a central transverse slotorgroove ca embracing the shaft (L21, the saddle bracket being secured tothe shaft in any suitable manner, whereby the bucket (l is supported onand moves with the shaft 11.21. Projecting downward from the undersurface of the saddle-bracket are bosses ct, into which are tappedscrews c5 arranged to come into contact alternately with the bumpers b3,when the bucket. is rocked. The bucket C carries on its under surfaceplungers c, a pair thereof being preferably provided on each end of thebucket, as shown clearly in Fig. 13, and each pair may be united, at itslower ends, by a splasherbar c7, also clearly shown in Fig. 3, whichsplasher-bars are arranged alternately to strike the water in thedash-pot chambers b as the bucket is rocked, thus providing au effectivecushioning means, preventing noise. The plungers are also provideddesirably, at a point between their upper and lower extremities, withknobs Us. rlhe bucket (l carries, a pin cf engaging alternately with thetwo arms of the yoke (L19 whenthe bucket is rocked, thus rocking the pinals in tif) senese engagement with the registering mechanism, therebycausing the registering mechanism to record each oscillation of thebucket.

The cur Yature of the sides of the dash-pot chambers is important with abucket having rigid plungers. lf the plungers were pivoted, which is aweak construction, the sides of the dash-pot chambers could be madestraight, as usual; but, with a preferably rigid plunger, as in myconstruction, and for a dash-pot chamber of my desired size, it is mydesign to make the sides of the dash-pot chambers curved, so that thesplasher-bars c7 may swing clear into the chambers of the dash-pots (asgraphically illustrated in Fig. l), without wedging or j amming therein,.as would be the case were the sides of the dashpot chambers straightandof the same size as in my construction.

Operation. In the operation of my device, liquid is admitted through theinlet-opening c1, passes through the hood al* onto flange cf', thencedown through the nozzle c", into one of the compartments of the bucketC. When suflicient liquid has passed into one of the compartments of thebucket, the bucket will be rocked downward by the weight of the watertherein, the pin c on the bucket being thereby caused to engage with anarm of the yoke am, thus causing the pin als fast on the yoke to berotated, which pin is in engagement with the registering mechanism,whereby the oscillation of the bucket is registered. The water then runsout of the end of the compartment, thence into the bottom of the casing,in a short time filling the dash-pots, as the dash-pots are locatedbelow the level of the outlet-openings, and, when the water reaches thelevel of the outlet openings a3, it will be carried olf rapidly, as theoutlet openings are much larger than the inlet-opening al, wherebyflooding or undesirable banking up of the water in the casing isprevented. By having the dashpots on a plane lower than theoutlet-openings, as shown in the drawings, liquid is always retained. inthem. The splasher-bars c7 of the plungers being of less area than thedash-pot chanibers, the liquid can escape only around the edges of thesplasher-bars when they enter the dash-pots at each downward movementofthe bucket, forming a liquid-cushion. The velocity of the bucket .isdecreased by this arrangement. and the noise avoided which would occurif, in the operation of the device, the adjusting screws of' werepermitted to strike the bumpers b* without decreasing the momentum ofthe bucket before such striking of the bumpers by the screws. As theempty compartment rises, pressure of the water on the upper side of thesplasher-bar c7 operates as a slight brake on the ascending pair ofplungers, and the oscillating action of the bucket is thereby renderedsomewhat less abrupt; thus tend- I i l ing to avoid jar and strain. Thedevice may have liquid supplied thereto by gravity or the same may bepumped into the casing through the inlet-opening a, The quantity ofwater allowed to tlow into one of the compartments of the bucket isregulated by the adjusting screws ci. lt is obvious that, should eitherof the adjusting screws be carried farther into the boss c", itscorresponding bucket-compartment would travel a relatively increaseddistance downward, and the liquid in the opposite compartment wouldthereby be allowed to rise to a higher elevation, and a greater quantityof the liquid would be contained in that compartment. The capacity ofthe other compartment would remain unchanged, unless the otheradjlisting-screw were changed to project a greater or less distance outof the boss. It will thus be seen that the device will operate to meterdifferent quantities at the same time, and may be adjusted to metervarying quantities at different times.

It is important in a device of the character of: my invention that exactquantities of water shall be measured at each oscillation of the bucket,and to this end positive means insuring such precise measurement must beprovided. Such devicesl as spring-plates in the path of movement of theoscillating bucket, and against which the bucket strikes, as iscustomary, the spring-plate serving as a stop or abutment limiting thedegree of i downward movement of the bucket, will not answer mypurposes; as not only does the bucket 'striking against the springplatecause a very great and objectionable degree of noise, but the springplate yields to a certain extent and thus, by reason of this yielding,the correct and desired quantity of water cannot be measured. In otherwords. such devices as spring-plates are yielding stops. My abutments orbumpers L, in connection with the adjusting screws c, form a rigid stop,so that exact quantities of water may be positively measured.

lVithout limiting myself to the details of construction, asmodifications of detail may be made without departing from the spirit ofthe invention, or sacrificing any advantages, and thus come strictlywithin the scope and purview of my invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a meter, a casing, a funnel disposed and supported within thecasing, and a scaper-device disposed within, and reciprocably movablelengthwise of the funnel to remove therefrom sediment collectingtherein.

2. In a meter, a casing, a funnel disposed and supported within thecasing, and a scraper-device disposed within, and reciprocably movablelengthwise of the funnel to remove therefrom sediment collectingtherein,

:uid provided with manLtelly-opeable means extending outside of theeasing.

speai'- or wedge-shaped scraper-device disposed Within, and reoipiooablymovable 3. In n meter, zi casing, a funnel disposed i lengthwise of thefunnel to remove thereand supported Within the easing, and ascraper-device disposed Within, and reeip Q i'ocably movable lengthwiseof the funnel to remove therefrom sediment collecting therein, undprovided With an operating rod extending through the shell or side ofthe casing.

il. In a meter, a Casing, a funnel disposed and supported Within theeasing, and a from sediment collecting therein.

In testimony whereof, I alix my signature, in the presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

JOHN DANIEL WALSH.

